Church Resource Page
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9

Dear Churches,

Thanks so much for visiting our Web site! We have many opportunities for churches to get involved within our ministry from sponsoring a donation drive, to inviting a Hope Ministries speaker to your church, to organizing a group volunteer project. Each month, I will update you on new opportunities that might be available, share some things that other churches are doing and highlight upcoming events. I look forward to visiting with you about how your church can partner with Hope Ministries.

Feel free to contact me at info@hopeiowa.org or give me a call at (515) 265-7272, ext 109.

Your partner in ministry,
Mary Kohlsdorf
Church Relations Coordinator

• Letter from Mary
• Church Ambassadors
• Outreach Opportunities for your Church
• Bulletin and Newsletter Announcements
• A Letter to Your Church Leadership
• A Case for Compassion, study guide for youth and adult groups
• New Resources for your church
• How Can Our Church Get Involved?
• More Ways Your Church Can Get Involved!
• Free clothing vouchers for your congregation

Outreach Opportunities for your Church

Service and Mission (SAM) teams
Are members of your church looking for a unique “hands-on” opportunity to visit and bless the homeless in Des Moines? Each Saturday, Hope Ministries takes groups to visit the homeless tent camps along the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers, experience standing in a soup kitchen line, eat at our Hope Café and volunteer at our Hope Bargain Center. You can learn more about SAM team opportunities by clicking here, calling (515) 265-7272 or emailing info@hopeiowa.org.

Share a Pair and Save Some "Souls": We encourage your body of believers to consider organizing a "Share a Pair" drive for gently used shoes. When you donate your used shoes to Hope Ministries, we will make sure they’re put to good use. For more information on organizing a "Share a Pair" drive, click here or contact us at (515) 265-7272 or info@hopeiowa.org.




Bulletin and Newsletter Announcements

We welcome you to include the following announcements in your church's bulletin or newsletter:

Easter Announcement: Hope Ministries is in need of volunteers to help serve and deliver a special Easter meal on April 4. We will begin registering volunteers on February 1. For more information, call (515) 265-7272 or e-mail info@hopeiowa.org.


A Letter to your church leadership:
Who's Taking Care of the Homeless???

To: The clergy, administrator, staff, missions and other boards or committees

From: Leon Negen, President/CEO of Hope Ministries

At Hope Ministries, the Great Commission is truly our greatest ambition. We are working every day to meet the needs of the homeless and hungry, and introduce them to Christ’s love. And our ministry provides a great conduit for your church body to serve those in need right here in Iowa. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel! We invite you to serve alongside us as we provide comprehensive, holistic, Christ-centered recovery for men, women and children.

2009 was a record setting year in number of meals and people served at Hope Ministries. We averaged over 12,200 meals and 4,800 nights of shelter each month! Altogether, we served 146,986 meals and provided 57,544 nights of shelter.

We need the partnership of churches to address the growing number of homeless. We need God's people to help us do God's work. That's why we are offering numerous educational resources and hands-on outreach opportunities for your body of believers to get involved.

If your church is seeking opportunities to reach out to the homeless and hungry in the mission field here in Iowa we have a place for you. Whether it is individuals, small groups of youth and/or adults seeking short-term service and mission opportunities close to home, we have many options to choose from. We strive to make your experience at Hope Ministries educational, inspiring and life changing.

Hope Ministries is a unique ministry. We are more than just a hand-out organization; we have a hand-up philosophy of ministry. Our continuum-of-care recovery programs for homeless men, women and children are one of a kind. We seek to stop the cycle of homelessness by helping the addicted, displaced and discouraged from all over the state find hope and healing through life-skills training and spiritual growth.

My staff and I are praying your church will explore an expanded role in helping us tend to the needs of the homeless in 2009.


New Resources for your Church

We have several new resources that can help your church learn about and connect with Hope Ministries!

• Hope for the Homeless DVD: Our Hope for the Homeless DVD is an excellent education and awareness resource that can be shown during worship, Sunday school, mission board and small group meetings. The words of Jesus from Matthew 25 are depicted throughout the video while showing actual footage of homeless tent camps, meals, shelters, recovery programs and volunteers.
• "A Case for Compassion" Study Guide for Small Groups: Moving people from contempt and condemnation to compassion is an ongoing challenge in our ministry. Our new compassion study guide was developed to facilitate discussion regarding homelessness and our responsibility as Christians to reach out to the "least of these." The three-part series provides biblical references, questions, and individual and group empathy exercises. This resource can be helpful for sermons, Sunday schools and small groups. Coming Soon! Our study guide will soon be available on our Web site for downloading in pdf format.
• Hope's Helper E-bulletin for Churches, Ambassadors and Other Mission Partners: Periodically we send out an e-bulletin to hundreds of churches, ambassadors and other partners which outlines our current needs, volunteer, outreach and employment opportunities. We invite you to keep your church in the communication loop and receive this e-mail announcement. You can register your church to receive this informative and useful resource by filling out our registration form.

To order a DVD or "A Case for Compassion" study guide, feel free to call (515) 265-7272 or e-mail info@hopeiowa.org


How Can Our Church Get Involved?

Is your congregation looking for a way to help central Iowa’s homeless and hungry men, women and children? Listed below are suggested first steps to introduce your church to Hope Ministries and to explore potential outreach, volunteer and mission involvement opportunities.

Step One: Review Our Website
Our award-winning Web site provides a comprehensive outline of our facilities, programs and services. This is a good first step in discovering the scope of our outreach in central Iowa.

Step Two: Your pastor and/or church leadership are invited to attend our Leadership Lunch and Learn.
Leadership Lunch and Learns are held on the first Thursday of each month from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The agenda includes sharing in a community lunch in our Hope Café, located at our Bethel Mission facility, followed by a facility tour and one-on-one question and answer time with both our community relations officer and church relations coordinator.

Step Three: Attend a Community Awareness Tour
Community Awareness Tours are held on the second and third Wednesdays of each month at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. During your tour you will have the opportunity to see Hope Ministries in action firsthand and view all of our facilities.

Step Four: Invite a Hope Ministries Speaker to your church
Hope Ministries can send a representative to speak at your Sunday morning worship or other church functions. Our speakers often invite one of our recovery graduates to attend and share his or her testimony. Videos and display boards as well as materials to hand out are also available upon request.

Step Five: Designate a Hope's Ambassador or Ambassador Team
Hope Ambassadors serve as the "Voice of the Hope Ministries" for their congregation. Ambassadors act as a liaison to coordinate communication between Hope Ministries and your church regarding volunteer, outreach and mission partnership opportunities. Click here to learn more.

Step Six: Become a King's Closet Church
Hope Ministries' King's Closet program is a year-round outreach providing free clothing to individuals and families. The purpose of King's Closet is to serve God by ministering to the material needs of the impoverished in Des Moines and central Iowa and to extend our outreach to area agencies and churches serving the disadvantaged. Vouchers for free clothing are available through authorized King's Closet agencies and churches. Authorized King's Closet agencies must have a Hope Ambassador. Click here to learn more.

Step Seven: Schedule a Service and Mission Team experience
Held every Saturday, Service and Mission (SAM) teams allow church groups to experience a little bit of everything: a two-hour work-group project, standing in the lunch line with members of the Des Moines community and sharing in our community meal at our Hope Café, hearing a testimony from one of our recovery graduates, learning about homelessness in Iowa, a tour of the largest emergency shelter for homeless men in Iowa and a hands-on visit to homeless tent camps here in Des Moines. Click here to learn more.

Step Eight: Order our "Hope for the Homeless" DVD (video)
Call or e-mail us to order our DVD (6:34 minutes) to play during your worship service or for other church functions to educate your members about our Christ-centered ministry to the homeless and hungry here in Iowa. Call 265-7272 or e-mail info@hopeiowa.org.


More Ways Your Church Can Get Involved!

• Remember Hope Ministries, our shelter and recovery residents, staff and volunteers in your church prayers.
• Consider how our ministry to the homeless and hungry might fit within your annual mission's budget.
• Schedule a short-term missions trip through our G2:10 Challenge for youth groups.
• Consider adding a link to our Web site (www.hopeiowa.org) on your church's Web site.
• Encourage your members to become involved as volunteers! Click here to learn about our many volunteer opportunities.
• Invite Hope Ministries to bring a display for your church's "Missions Sunday."
• Sponsor an annual Hope Sunday and invite us to bring a resident to speak about what it means to be homeless and hopeless.
• Sponsor a clothing or food drive for our clothes closet and meals programs. Click here to learn more about donation drives.
• Adopt a room at our Hope Family Center.
• Encourage members to join our Hope Prayer Team.
• Sign up your church to volunteer at our Hope Bargain Center.
• Sign up your church to provide a once-a-month meal at our Hope Family Center.
• Ask us about how your church can lead a 30-minute evening chapel at our Bethel Mission facility.
• Encourage your men to volunteer to be a mentor for one of our residents at our Door of Faith men's recovery center or for children at Hope Family Center.